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Matthiaskapelle mit der Oberburg

Without a doubt, the Matthias Chapel is in many ways one of the most remarkable, original and enigmatic buildings in our region. It is one of the most important late Romanesque chapels in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Starting with the - in the truest sense of the word - main purpose of edification, the preservation of a relic. We are talking about the head of St. Matthias, brought by Heinrich I of Kobern from the Crusade of Damiette (1217-1221). It was kept there for about 130 years. In 1927, the relic was brought to the abbey of St. Matthias in Trier.

Absolutely extraordinary is the architecture of the Matthias Chapel. Built between 1220 and 1240 AD, the building style, which is completely untypical in this country, can be compared with churches in Spain, Portugal and Asia Minor. They all stylistically go back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which was known by crusades and pilgrimages. Heinrich I, the son of Gerlach of Isenburg-Kobern, had the chapel built on the model of Tomar in Portugal.